Spider-Man creator Stan Lee has thrown his comic book weight behind the the appointment of Ben Affleck as Batman in the next Superman film after the choice of the actor received a backlash from movie fans.

More than 92,000 people have signed an online petition calling for Warner Brothers to drop the former Daredevil star from the Man of Steel sequel, but Mr Lee will clearly not be signing it.

“I’m one of the few people who think it’s a good idea,” he told the Wall Street Journal. “Ben Affleck is a good actor, and a good director, and I think he’ll surprise a lot of people.”